The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Laceration"

Reading/Discussion Schedule

February 9: to p. 67; February 12: to p. 140; February 16: to p. 195; February 19: to p. 262;

February 23: to p. 342;  February 26: to p. 420; March 9: to p. 486; March 12: to p. 532;

March 16: to p. 623; March 19: to p. 671;  March 23: finish.

March 30 - the BIG finish.

QdJ - What is your earliest recollection of your mother?

1. Look for connections to both Kierkegaard and Nietzche in this work.
2. Is Fyodor buffooning or serious as he talks about the hell hooks?
3. Summarize Fyodor's theology.
4. Why is Alyosha so embarassed by his father?
5. Which account of faith in today's reading is most powerful?
6. What do you make of Zosima's account of the church vs. state?

February 12

1. What does Dmitri want from Alyosha?
2. What makes a Karamazov?
3. Viewing each character as either in an ascent or in a descent, where is Dmitri? Fyodor? Alyosha? Ivan? Smerdyakov?
4. Bring your own questions and be prepared to pose them in class.

February 16

1. Construct a "laceration" catalog.
2. How is laceration a leitmotif for the entire work?
3. How does laceration contribute to Alyosha's growth and development?
4. How is Katerina Ivanovna like Fyodor?

February 16 - WRITING

Choose one of the Karamazovs*  and write about their root character and identity.

(*If you like, you may write about Smerdyakov.)

February 19

QdJ - When you see God, face to face, what will you ask Him?

1. Using Belknap's definition of laceration (811-812), complete the character/laceration table we started in class on February 11. Choose one word to describe each character's laceration. Bring your list to class.
2. Read the Rebellion and Grand Inquisitor passages twice. Who is the Grand Inquisitor?
3. How would Ivan define human freedom?
4. What is the crux of each of the three temptations of Christ, according to Ivan?
5. Find all instances of character pairings that represent great likenesses or oppositions - e.g. Fyodor and Katya.

February 23

1. How does each character contribute to Alyosha's identity development?
2. Describe the overall trajectory of Alyosha's character development.
3. Are Father Zosima's words enough to counterbalance Ivan's words? Explain.
4. How does an onion serve as a leitmotif?

February 26

1. What physical entity used in the novel best symbolizes each character in the work and why? For example, for Father Zosima, one might argue that the ocean is such a symbol. Compile this list and bring it to class. Also, compile a list of all of the symbols you see in the novel thus far.

2. We will hold a "Reader's Theatre" of "In the Dark".

3. How does Book VIII "rhyme" with or "mirror" Mitya's confessions in Book III?

4. In what way is Dmitri an incomplete soul?

5. Why is the pestle a possible symbol for Dmitri's character?

March 9

1. What are Mitya's three torments?

2. What correspondences and contrasts can we find between Mitya's three-part confession (Book III) and his three-part torment (Book IX)?

3. How is religious faith connected with suffering?

March 12

1. How does the account of Kolya, Ilyusha, and the other boys illustrate Zosima's platitude about the ocean?

2. Which Karamazov brother is Kolya most like and why?

3. How has Alyosha changed since we last saw him in the novel?

4. How does the Grand Inquisitor section echo in Book X?

March 16

1. In what ways do each of the following themes resonate in Book XI:  secret, hallucination, guilt, aberration?

2. How do the characters of Lise, Ilyusha, and Kolya form a response to Ivan's theories on the injustice of childrens' suffering?

3. What is the significance of Smerdyakov's affirmation of God's presence?

4. For Ivan, is the devil a hallucination or not? Is the devil's strategy to reawaken Ivan's faith or to kill it?

March 16 - WRITING

Write about one of the following: a) Zosima, b) laceration, c) Mitya, d) a symbol for one of the characters, or e) the parallel between children and adults in the novel

March 19

1. Compare the courtroom scene to that of the Karamazov family visiting the monastery in book II.

2. In what way is each brother guilty of Fyodor's death?

3. What does the trial teach about getting at the truth?

4. How DOES one person determine the guilt of another person?

March 23

Breatkfast at Marmalade

March 30

THE BIG FINISH

1. How does the end of the novel resolve loose ends?

2. How does John 12:24 serve as the defining passage of the novel?

3. What other passages might serve in this capacity?

4. Final thoughts ...